It is known that falls represent a leading cause of non-fatal injuries in the United States. A number of epidemiological studies have reported a drastic increase of fall incidence rate in the population over the age of 65, suggesting a direct relationship between aging and the frequency of fall events. It has been estimated that approximately 30% of all individuals over the age of 65 have at least one fall per year. When the dramatic growth in the number of people over 65 and their proportion in the population is considered, this situation represents a significant health problem.
Typically, current approaches to solving the problem of injury from falls include devices which use composite matting to absorb energy resulting from patient/floor impact during falls. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,636,577, 4,557,475, 4,727,697, 4,846,457, 4,948,116, 4,991,834 and 4,998,717 each describe impact-absorbing coverings which utilize air-filled cells or compressible materials to absorb the energy of a fall. Because each of these systems is always compliant (i.e., always deformable under compressive pressures), shoes, feet, and/or other contacts with the flooring surface result in relatively large mat deflections. This property has the potential to increase the likelihood of falls due to toe/mat interference during foot swing, and/or presents a problem when an individual attempts to move an object over the floor (e.g., a wheelchair). These factors can be of even greater concern in a health care setting, where many residents may have an unsteady gait and/or utilize wheelchairs.
Recently, Laing and Robinovitch, “Low stiffness floors can attenuate fall-related femoral impact forces by up to 50% without substantially impairing balance in older women,” Accident Analysis and Prevention 41 (2009) 642-650, describe the important tradeoffs and shortcomings associated with several flooring systems known in the art.
In view of the known limitations, it would be desirable to provide improved flooring apparatus and systems that are dual-stiffness—that is, exhibit good stiffness under normal conditions but are compliant and shock-absorbing when a fall occurs. Specifically, what is needed is a flooring apparatus that retains a solid feel and remains stable during normal activities; whereas when a fall occurs, the flooring apparatus cushions the body at acute points and absorbs a significant amount of the impact, including an amount that is improved over the prior art. Commercially practical systems and methods to implement the flooring apparatus are also needed.
Additionally, improvements to the prior art are needed to better address commercial needs. The prior art includes U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. 2007/0204545A1, entitled “FLOORING APPARATUS FOR REDUCING IMPACT ENERGY DURING A FALL” which publication is hereby incorporated by reference herein, in its entirety.